Revelation, 1 March
1832 [D&C 78]

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

The conferral of power and authority; to appoint, decree, or set apart. Church members, primarily adults, were ordained to ecclesiastical offices and other responsibilities by the laying on of hands by those with the proper authority. Ordinations to priesthood...

The authority and power held by certain officers in the church. The Book of Mormon referred to the high priesthood as God’s “holy order, which was after the order of his Son,” and indicated that Melchizedek, a biblical figure, was a high priest “after this...

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

These high priests
were likely JS, Sidney Rigdon, Newel K. Whitney, Reynolds
Cahoon, Joseph Coe, and Hyrum Smith. Hyrum Smith recorded in his diary that these
individuals met in Kirtland,
Ohio, on 1 March. The diary reports that “farther
Coe” was there—probably in reference to Joseph Coe. Smith and Cahoon were appointed
counselors to Bishop Newel K. Whitney on 10 February
1832 and likely attended the meeting in that capacity. (Hyrum Smith, Diary and Account Book, 10 Feb. and 1
Mar. 1832.)

& listen to the councel of him who has ordained
you from on high who shall speak in your ear the words of wisdom that salvation
may be unto you in that thing which you have presented before me saith the
Lord God for verily I say unto you the time has come and and is now at hand
and behold & lo it must needs be that there be an organization of the
Literary and Merchantile establishments of my church both in this place and in
the land of Zion

JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of promise” for gathering of Saints and place for “city of Zion,” with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland, Ohio, became known...

for a perminent and everlasting establishment and firm unto my church to advance
the cause which ye have espaused espoused to
the salvation of man and to the glory of your Father who is in heaven that you
may be equal in the bonds of heavenly things yea and earthly things also for
the obtaining of
heavenly things for if ye are not equal in earthly things ye cannot be equal
in obtaining heavenly things2

A February
1831
revelation gave
specific directions to the church and its leaders concerning the consecration
and distribution of property to attain economic equality. Those instructions came in
response to a previous revelation that promised such a law as a means of achieving temporal unity.
This revelation further admonished the members of the church that “if ye are not one
ye are not mine.” (Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831 [D&C
42:1–72];
Revelation, 2 Jan.
1831 [D&C 38:27].)

Highest kingdom of glory in the afterlife; symbolically represented by the sun. According to a vision dated 16 February 1832, inheritors of the celestial kingdom “are they who received the testimony of Jesus, & believed on his name, & were baptized,” “receive...

you must prepare yourselves
by doing the thing which I have commanded &
required of you & now verily thus saith the Lord it is expedient that all
things be done unto my glory that ye should who are joined together in this
firm or in other words that my Servant Newel K.
Whitney

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of promise” for gathering of Saints and place for “city of Zion,” with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland, Ohio, became known...

A fallen angel, or son of God, known by many names, including Lucifer, the devil, the father of lies, the prince of darkness, perdition, and the adversary. In the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and JS’s Bible revisions, Satan was described as a tempter of men...

seeketh to turn there hearts away from the truth that they become blinded
& understand not the things which are prepared for them wherefore a commandment

Generally, a divine mandate that church members were expected to obey; more specifically, a text dictated by JS in the first-person voice of Deity that served to communicate knowledge and instruction to JS and his followers. Occasionally, other inspired texts...

I give unto you to prepare and organize
yourselves by an everlasting covinent5

The copy
of this revelation that John Whitmer made in Revelation Book 1
sometime after April 1832 has “a bond or an
everlasting covenant” here. At some point, JS inserted “a bond or” before
“an everlasting covenant” in the copy in Revelation Book 2. (Revelation Book 1,
p.
145, and Revelation Book 2,
p.
16
[D&C 78].)

which cannot be broken & he who breaketh it shall
loose his office & standing in the church and shall be delivered over unto
the buffitings of satan untill the day of redemption, Behold this is the
preperation wherewith I prepare you and the foundation & the [p. [1]]

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

The conferral of power and authority; to appoint, decree, or set apart. Church members, primarily adults, were ordained to ecclesiastical offices and other responsibilities by the laying on of hands by those with the proper authority. Ordinations to priesthood...

The authority and power held by certain officers in the church. The Book of Mormon referred to the high priesthood as God’s “holy order, which was after the order of his Son,” and indicated that Melchizedek, a biblical figure, was a high priest “after this...

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

These high priests
were likely JS, Sidney Rigdon, Newel K. Whitney, Reynolds
Cahoon, Joseph Coe, and Hyrum Smith. Hyrum Smith recorded in his diary that these
individuals met in Kirtland,
Ohio, on 1 March. The diary reports that “farther
Coe” was there—probably in reference to Joseph Coe. Smith and Cahoon were appointed
counselors to Bishop Newel K. Whitney on 10 February
1832 and likely attended the meeting in that capacity. (Hyrum Smith, Diary and Account Book, 10 Feb. and 1
Mar. 1832.)

& listen to the councel of him who has ordained
you from on high who shall speak in your ear the words of wisdom that salvation
may be unto you in that thing which you have presented before me saith the
Lord God for verily I say unto you the time has come and and is now at hand
and behold & lo it must needs be that there be an organization of the
Literary and Merchantile establishments of my church both in this place and in
the land of Zion

JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of promise” for gathering of Saints and place for “city of Zion,” with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland, Ohio, became known...

for a perminent and everlasting establishment and firm unto my church to advance
the cause which ye have espaused [espoused] to
the salvation of man and to the glory of your Father who is in heaven that you
may be equal in the bonds of heavenly things yea and earthly things also for
the obtaining of heavenly ofheavenly things for if ye are not equal in earthly things ye cannot be equal
in obtaining heavenly thing[s]2

A February
1831
revelation gave
specific directions to the church and its leaders concerning the consecration
and distribution of property to attain economic equality. Those instructions came in
response to a previous revelation that promised such a law as a means of achieving temporal unity.
This revelation further admonished the members of the church that “if ye are not one
ye are not mine.” (Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831 [D&C
42:1–72];
Revelation, 2 Jan.
1831 [D&C 38:27].)

Highest kingdom of glory in the afterlife; symbolically represented by the sun. According to a vision dated 16 February 1832, inheritors of the celestial kingdom “are they who received the testimony of Jesus, & believed on his name, & were baptized,” “receive...

you must prepare yourselves
by doing <the> thing which I have commanded &
required of you & now verily thus saith the Lord it is expedient that all
things be done unto my glory that ye should who are joined together in this
firm or in other words that my Servant Newel [K.
Whitney]

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of promise” for gathering of Saints and place for “city of Zion,” with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland, Ohio, became known...

A fallen angel, or son of God, known by many names, including Lucifer, the devil, the father of lies, the prince of darkness, perdition, and the adversary. In the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and JS’s Bible revisions, Satan was described as a tempter of men...

seeketh to turn there hearts away from the truth that they become blinded
& understand not the things which are prepared for them wherefore a commandment

Generally, a divine mandate that church members were expected to obey; more specifically, a text dictated by JS in the first-person voice of Deity that served to communicate knowledge and instruction to JS and his followers. Occasionally, other inspired texts...

I give unto you to prepare an[d] organize
yourselves by an everlasting covinent5

The copy
of this revelation that John Whitmer made in Revelation Book 1
sometime after April 1832 has “a bond or an
everlasting covenant” here. At some point, JS inserted “a bond or” before
“an everlasting covenant” in the copy in Revelation Book 2. (Revelation Book 1,
p.
145, and Revelation Book 2,
p.
16
[D&C 78].)

which cannot be broken & he who breaketh it shall
loose his office & standing in the church and shall be delivered over unto
the buffitings of satan untill the day of redemption, Behold this is the
preperation wherewith I prepare you and the foundation & the [p. [1]]

This revelation deals with the
church’s mercantile and publishing endeavors. As church members gathered to Jackson
County

Settled at Fort Osage, 1808. County created, 16 Feb. 1825; organized 1826. Named after U.S. president Andrew Jackson. Featured fertile lands along Missouri River and was Santa Fe Trail departure point, which attracted immigrants to area. Area of county reduced...

A specific location in Missouri; also a literal or figurative gathering of believers in Jesus Christ, characterized by adherence to ideals of harmony, equality, and purity. In JS’s earliest revelations “the cause of Zion” was used to broadly describe the ...

28 Dec. 1789–29 June 1834. Merchant. Born at New Haven, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Eli Gilbert and Lydia Hemingway. Moved to Huntington, Fairfield Co., Connecticut; to Monroe, Monroe Co., Michigan Territory, by Sept. 1818; to Painesville, Geauga Co...

A partnership between Newel K. Whitney and Sidney Gilbert; later the branch of the United Firm responsible for overseeing the church’s mercantile endeavors in Kirtland, Ohio. In late 1826 or early 1827, Whitney and Gilbert established this partnership to ...

Located twelve miles from western Missouri border. Permanently settled, platted, and designated county seat, 1827. Hub for steamboat travel on Missouri River. Point of departure for Santa Fe Trail. Population in 1831 about 300. Mormon population by summer...

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Mormon missionaries...

in
early 1832 that was funded in
part by Whitney and operated under the name Gilbert & Whitney. Whitney, who
remained in Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

Money was also needed to fund the
publication of
JS’s revelations, another venture church leaders
began exploring in 1831. On 12 November 1831, a special conference in Hiram

Area settled by immigrants from Pennsylvania and New England, ca. 1802. Located in northeastern Ohio about twenty-five miles southeast of Kirtland. Population in 1830 about 500. Population in 1840 about 1,100. JS lived in township at home of John and Alice...

3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

18 May 1783–10 July 1875. Farmer. Born at Easton, Albany Co., New York. Son of Nathan Harris and Rhoda Lapham. Moved with parents to area of Swift’s landing (later in Palmyra), Ontario Co., New York, 1793. Married first his first cousin Lucy Harris, 27 Mar...

One who managed property and goods under the law of consecration; also someone given a specific ecclesiastical responsibility. According to the “Laws of the Church of Christ,” members of the church were to make donations to the bishop, who would record the...

Generally, a divine mandate that church members were expected to obey; more specifically, a text dictated by JS in the first-person voice of Deity that served to communicate knowledge and instruction to JS and his followers. Occasionally, other inspired texts...

” and that any “profits” they gained from publishing church
materials over and above their needs be placed in the Lord’s storehouse

Both a literal and a figurative repository for goods and land donated to the church. The book of Malachi directed the house of Israel to bring “all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house.” In JS’s revision of the Old Testament...

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. Christ and many ancient prophets, including Abraham, were described as being high priests. The Book of Mormon used the term high priest to denote one appointed to lead the church. However, the Book of Mormon also discussed...

At the meeting, JS dictated this
revelation, which instructed himself, Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

to organize a “firm” to manage the “Literary and Merchantile
establishments” of the church. The revelation also required JS, Rigdon, and Whitney
to travel to Zion

JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of promise” for gathering of Saints and place for “city of Zion,” with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland, Ohio, became known...

, probably at the same time Williams
recorded it in Revelation
Book 2. Although it is unclear exactly when the Whitney copy was made,
Williams probably made the entry in Revelation Book 2 sometime between 8 March (the date of a note that precedes the
revelation) and 1 April (when JS
departed for Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Mormon missionaries...

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

One leaf of laid
paper ruled with thirty-four blue horizontal lines (now faded). Slight
deviations on the left and right edges indicate the page was cut from a book.
The excised leaf measures 12¾ × 8 inches (32 × 20 cm). The leaf was folded in
half and then tri-folded in letter style. A notation, also in the handwriting of
Frederick G. Williams

”
as the recipient of the document. The document was later refolded for filing and
docketed by Newel K. Whitney in graphite: “a command relative to | Newel, Joseph
& Sidneys | Going to Zion 1 March
1832”.

This
document and several other revelations, along with
many other personal and institutional documents kept by
Whitney

, were inherited by his daughter
Mary Jane Whitney, who married Isaac
Groo. This collection was passed down in the Groo family and donated
by members of the family to the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young
University during the period 1969–1974.1